Month: August 2015

Hi All, so this will be the last blog I write for ELVis as I will be leaving the organisation on September 18th to start a new job in Manchester. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the ELVis team, all the local societies, members and partner organisations for making my time at ELVis a great one. I have enjoyed getting to know everyone and all the great events we have put on over the last year. That being said, I would also like to make a mention to each of the 7 local societies within the ELVis patch for anyone who is not aware of these incredible groups:

Havering

Sight Action (Havering) operate a free ‘Telephone Befriending Service’ providing regular contact to those vision impaired people who are isolated or housebound because of their sensory disability.

We work closely with other groups and agencies within Havering and beyond, to ensure that the needs of people with sight loss are not overlooked. We also run the ‘Sight Support Service’ in the Eye Clinic at the Queens Hospital in Romford, providing advice, information and support to patients, their family and carers, on issues relating to sight loss.

Hackney VI Group are putting on a series of events and activities with refreshments for blind and partially sighted people living in Hackney. Each meeting will take place on the second Tuesday of each month at Navarino Mansions, Dalston Lane, E8 1LB from 13.30 – 15.30. Sometimes the time and venue may change so please ensure to get in contact with the details below.

Tel: 020 3697 6464

Email: enquiries@eastlondonvision.org.uk

Barking and Dagenham

Meet everything 3rd Monday of each month from 18.00 – 20.00 at Crowlands Heath Golf Club, RM8 1JX. The group provides peer support, information and multiple social events. Previously we have had technology speakers, a pub quiz and a summer BBQ.
Email: bhavinimakwana660@hotmail.com

Tel: 020 3697 6464

Redbridge

ActivEyes are a user led organisation for blind and partially sighted people living in the London Borough of Redbridge and the surrounding area. We run a range of social and physical activities such as a monthly Breakfast Club on the first Friday of each month, quarterly members meetings, meals out, tennis sessions, and cinema visits.

Tel: 0203 697 6464

Email: enquiries@eastlondonvision.org.uk

Tower Hamlets

If you are visually impaired and living in Tower Hamlets why not come and join Beyond Barriers social and activity Group. We meet regularly twice a month, as well as having additional courses such as Money Matters run by Toynbee Hall and will also be running the course in Bengali. Some of the activities that we have had in the past include: Trip to the seaside, dinner and dancing, sailing experience, shopping and much more.

Tel: 07956 510 008,

Email: ashrafia1@btinternet.com

Newham

VIPON is a new social and peer support group for blind and partially sighted people in Newham. Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at the Star Lane Hub, from 14.00-16.00. Previous meetings have included: Drama activities, speakers on the Care Act and mystery shopping.

Tel: 0203 697 6464

Email: enquiries@eastlondonvision.org.uk

Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest Vision is a user led peer support group for Visually Impaired people living and working in Waltham Forest. We have a range of different social activities such bi monthly meetings, monthly culture club, organised walks, dinner out and much more. A Newsletter in alternative formats is also available.

Email: neil@walthamforestvision.org.uk

Tel: 07940 747 133

Thank you for reading my entries, sadly it is goodbye from me, I wish everyone the best of luck.

Hello you lovely people, it is time to check in with you again with my third blog entry. Six weeks still go by far too fast, I thought I’d have got used to it by now. Some will tell me it is called getting old, but I say time flies when you are having fun!! Sounds a whole lot better wouldn’t you say?

This week I want to tell you about the importance of corporate partnerships, and our recent work with Lloyds Banking Group (LBG).

The time finally arrived, and the much anticipated Sight Information Day took place on Thursday 23 July at the Epicentre in Leytonstone. The day was a huge success and attended by over 50 members of the public, 10 exhibitors, Thomas Pocklington Trust staff and staff from Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) who volunteered for us on the day.

Through the auction, selling of refreshments and exhibitor fees we raised £786.76, which will be match funded by Lloyds Banking Group up to £500 giving us a grand total of £1286.86. This will allow us to continue to support blind and partially sighted people across East London. Thank you to LBG for the opportunity of match funding us!

I feel the day was a great success and judging by the feedback everyone who attended thought so too, with one member of the public saying: “I live in East London, but didn’t know about ELVis and the services it offers until today, so I’m glad I came along”. Hearing statements such as this is extremely frustrating, yet great all at the same time, because it clearly highlights the importance of events of this nature. There are 9,015 registered blind and partially sighted people in east London and reaching them is a challenge, but one I hope we can try and overcome by holding, or attending events to promote the work of ELVis.

As part of the Sight Information Day we were fortunate to have the opportunity to partner up with LBG for their “Make a Difference” day. This proved to be an extremely beneficial partnership not only for ELVis, but I believe, equally a worthwhile and rewarding day for the Supplier Management team at LBG who gave up their time to volunteer for us.

In advance of LBG volunteering for us, Hassan Khan and I spent some time with them in the afternoon on Wednesday 22 July to provide some vision impairment awareness covering terminology, sighted guiding and common eye conditions with the use of simulation spectacles. Tracey Walsh from LBG said: “The simulation with the glasses on Wednesday gave a sense of what real life is possibly like with this type of disability. My respect for active vision impaired individuals in the community went up considerably & this experience made me think about how lucky we are & what we take for granted”.

I found it highly valuable meeting the LBG team in advance, as it strengthened and built on the rapport already created with Kelly Moizer-Peace via email, making for an effective working partnership on the day. As well as allowing Hassan and I to meet the rest of the team, it provided an opportunity for the LBG staff to feel comfortable, prepare for the volunteering day and ask any questions. It was fantastic to see their willingness to learn, their eagerness to take on a new challenge and throw themselves in.

I believe that the corporate affiliation with LBG made for an excellent opportunity for us, as ELVis to demonstrate the abilities of blind and partially sighted people in an actual professional working environment. I believe partnerships such as these are important and invaluable as they help in breaking down barriers and allow vision impaired people to be seen in a positive light as independent individuals who can, and do wish to contribute to society.

Kelly Moizer-Peace from LBG said: “My team were absolutely buzzing when we left on Thursday, the nerves we had on Wednesday are long gone. Thanks for being so warm and welcoming to us; it was our Day to Make a Difference but I believe its you that has made a difference to us.” A huge thank you to the team at LBG for their time, enthusiasm and willingness to assist from me and Team ELVis!! We look forward to working with you again in the future.

If you, or your organisation would like to know more about partnership working with us, or learn more about the work of ELVis, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on 020 3697 6464, or via email at enquiries@eastlondonvision.org.uk

As well as providing support to people who are experiencing some form of vision impairment, East London vision is also keen to promote good eye health, or at least to reduce the effect of sight loss. In 5 weeks’ time, we will be at the beginning of National Eye Health Week, 21-27 September. I therefore thought it timely to provide some information about eye health. So, here are 10 did you know that questions:

1. It is estimated that over 50% of sight loss in the UK can be prevented or treated.

2. An eye health check can detect conditions such as Diabetes and Glaucoma, which may not be immediately obvious to you.

3. Fresh fruit, vegetables and oily fish protect against eye diseases such as Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Cataracts.

4. Smoking doubles your chances of sight loss. If you stop smoking, the risk decreases over time. So, the message is simple – do not take up smoking and, if you do smoke, stop, it’s never too late!

5. Many eye conditions run in families, including conditions such as Glaucoma and Cataracts. So knowledge of family history can help indicate the likelihood of a condition before it becomes serious.

6. Ethnicity affects the chance of developing a visual impairment. Glaucoma is more common in people of African, African-Caribbean, South-East Asian, or Chinese origins. Cataracts are more common in people of Asian origin. Diabetic Retinopathy is more common in people of African, African-Caribbean, or Asian origins.

7. Exposure to ultra violet light when young can do significant harm – so make sure children wear sunglasses.

8. You should wear protective goggles for all manual work and also when carrying out DIY at home. If you use a computer screen, take regular breaks, about once an hour, to safeguard against eye strain, tiredness and headaches.

9. Eye checks are free if you are: under 16, under 19 and in full time education, over 60, Diabetic, living with (or have a family history of) Glaucoma, registered blind or partially sighted, in receipt of certain state benefits or part of a work scheme that provides free tests.

10. It’s important that you, and your children, have a sight test at least every two years. The earlier a potential problem is picked up, the better, so don’t delay and have a check as soon as possible.

Your sight is precious

Book your eye test today!

This is what the rest of my team have been up to in the last week:

• Held an Online Today technology session in conjunction with RNIB

• In conjunction with The Challenge held the team challenge drama skills visit in Newham with Vision Impaired People of Newham

• Held a meeting with Motivate East

• Attended the Hackney members meeting for a lovely afternoon tea

• Attended a fantastic drama session in with VIPON and the NCS Challenge

When we started the Local Vision Strategy London Implementation Programme 3 years ago it was, for me, a step into unknown territory… I had project managed before, but never in the public sector, and the thought of engaging with the ‘powers that be’ was somewhat intimidating.

Three years on and I have discovered that we all have a job to do, and are, more often than not, very thankful if there is help out there to enable us to do it.

With this attitude in mind I have set about drawing together people across the eye health and sight loss pathway, with the clarion call of ‘we are all in this together (even those who may not have known it at the beginning), so lets help each other to do our jobs’.

So where has this got us…. And more pertinently where hasn’t it got us?

Where it has got us is in to a position where we have, in each and every borough of east London:

• An Action Plan addressing these gaps, being implemented by each Group.

We also have ELVis implementing frontline projects and services to address the gaps identified in the strategies, and user led peer groups in each borough ensuring that support and activities are in place for VI people locally.

Where it hasn’t got us is into local ownership… the road to making each group self-sustainable is rocky. And I have been musing on why this might be so…My thinking is that, as this project was instigated by the Voluntary Sector, the public sectors (health and social care) do not feel bound to it – happy to participate, but not bound – as there is no obligation or accountability to it coming from ‘on high’.

So the emphasis is now on trying to ensure that each strategy is embedded into the local health and wellbeing framework (so that vision can be worked into the relevant priority strategies and remain higher up the agenda than it was previously) and endorsed by the local authority and clinical commissioning group (so that the strategy and action plan’s implementation can be monitored at top level).

The onus, nevertheless, currently remains on the third sector to drive it, and to hold providers to account on delivery…. The best way to ensure this must be to have vision impaired people actively involved, if not chairing, each Vision Strategy Group, and thereby driving it, and the stakeholders in it, forward…ensuring, by their very presence and best interests, that vision remains on the agenda.

But what if, like me when I embarked on this project, those people are not knowledgeable in the ways of health and social care protocols and structures? Or not used to holding a lot of busy professionals to account? …. I find myself echoing Roger’s call to action in his blog a few weeks ago…. “We must create effective and productive partnerships, allowing us all to contribute our specialist expertise, but always focusing on the individual and a genuine person centred approach”…. so that in 10 years time we really can look back and see that we have made a tangible difference.

Onward and upward…..

And with this in mind… here’s what the rest of the team have been up to this week:

• Good to see that the VS Groups are gaining momentum in terms of becoming recognised as a viable resource amongst the decision making bodies in the Local Authorities and Health structures

I know some of my colleagues stated that they felt their turn came round rather quickly. I on the other hand feel as if it has been months since my last entry, that’s probably because I have had some career defining changes over the last few weeks or so. To cut a very long story short, since my last entry I’m now no longer an intern, but a project co-ordinator collaboration directorate for Thomas Pocklington Trust, working in the collaboration team.

The last 2 weeks have been incredibly busy for me, all of which have been valuable and no doubt will stand me in good stead, in improving and gaining useful skills needed to be successful in this post.

Over the last 4 months it has been an honour to work alongside some inspirational people in organising the East London Vision Sight and Information Day, which I’m now pleased to report went smoothly and rather successfully. Although, I was shall we say, a little frustrated in the lack of donations we received from shops and well-known companies. I approached about 60 shops and organisations. Sadly many of them refused us on the basis that they were aiding other charities. Though Boots in Wood Green were fantastic, the Entertainer and Nandos in Westfield Stratford were also extremely generous, to name a few. Lloyd’s banking Group who volunteered at the event itself and match funded us up to £500 have been tremendously generous and a pleasure to work with.
At the East London Vision table I had the opportunity of demonstrating the iPhone, which I sincerely hope people found useful. I even managed to get a few tweets out there, not to mention to do a bit of networking. One of my colleagues has something special coming up in regards to the Sight and Information Day, so I shall leave the rest to her, but can I just add, the cakes on the day were to die for and our sincere thanks to everyone who donated.

Information Day

On the 24th of June, I was asked to attend the Marion Richardson ‘cluster’ of schools’ Paralympic sports event in Tower Hamlets.
Thirty nine children with differing disabilities, who attend 6 mainstream schools in East London, gathered at Marion Richardson School, to take part in a day of multiple sporting activities and to celebrate sporting accomplishments.

I had the honour of talking to year 6 and year 5 students. I must admit I was a little frightened, as I felt I may not have their full attention and they may choose not to listen. However, they were so engrossed and genuinely interested in every word I uttered, which was rather pleasant. Predictably I spoke glowingly about sports and in particular Blind cricket and how it changed my life for the better. I then spoke and demonstrated the importance of Braille and education, displaying medication boxes and books, which were written in Braille. The Year 6 students had the unique opportunity of receiving some vital tips on how to guide Vision Impaired people.

The presentation ended with an half an hour Q&A session, surprisingly I had a bucketful of questions to answer and later on at lunch time, the same children had further enquiries and questions for me. I believe, they wanted to know more about how to guide and in general how to communicate with a Vision Impaired person. I did explain that ELVis offer such a service and it would be our pleasure to offer VI Awareness training to Year 5 and year 6 students in the future free of charge. We’d be happy to deliver such a session to any School and I know Schools tend to have Non- Uniform days or sports days where they raise funds for activities and charities. I suggested to the teachers, to perhaps use one of these days, to raise funds for ELVis in return for our Vision Impairment Awareness Training. I know the staff certainly supported this idea and I do hope Schools take this offer up!

The day ended with a medal ceremony, where I was required to give a short speech, in which I spoke about dealing with sight loss, breaking barriers in order to achieve my goals and my experiences of playing for the England Blind Cricket Team. I also underlined the importance of having aspirations and that anyone, regardless of their disability can achieve their dreams, as long as they work hard for it. Finally I had the absolute privilege of handing out medals to all participants and to children who had volunteered on the day. I deem this visit to be successful, as I had the chance to do a little bit of networking during the lunch break, which will allow me to visit other Schools in the upcoming months.

I’m passionate about visiting the local communities in East London, in order to speak to Children, parents/Guardians, teachers and schools to discover and encourage Vision Impaired Children to register with ELVis and Metro Blind Sport. Through my work for Change Foundation, formally known as Cricket For Change, I had the opportunity to visit mainstream schools that contain VI Units. And it was so sad to learn that during PE lessons Vision Impaired children sat on the side-line whilst their peers played sports and got the benefits of physical exercise. In my personal opinion, I would have had a better standard of education at a mainstream School, but the lack of sports and social activities may have had a negative effect on me and for this reason alone I’m pleased that I attended a specialist school, where I was given the opportunity to study, learn living skills and take part in sporting and physical activities.

I believe with the help of Thomas Pocklington Trust and Metro Blind Sport, we will be able to reach out to younger VI people in order to involve them in sporting – social activities and consequently improve the quality of life for them.